ESPN fires hockey analyst Barnaby after DWI charge

FILE - This Feb. 15, 2005, file photo shows Chicago Blackhawks' Matthew Barnaby talking to the media after a pickup hockey game with other NHL players, in Amherst, N.Y. Authorities in New York say ESPN analyst and former NHL player Matthew Barnaby has been charged with drunken driving after driving erratically in an SUV that was missing a front tire.

ESPN has fired hockey analyst Matthew Barnaby after the former NHL player was charged with drunken driving for driving erratically in an SUV that was missing a front tire in suburban Buffalo.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — ESPN has fired hockey analyst Matthew Barnaby after the former NHL player was charged with drunken driving for driving erratically in an SUV that was missing a front tire in suburban Buffalo.

In an email sent to The Associated Press on Monday, ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz says the network informed Barnaby that his contract was terminated "effective immediately."

The decision was made a day after Erie County sheriffs said Barnaby was driving a Porsche Cayenne with front-end damage and a sparking rim in the Buffalo suburb of Clarence, where he lives. Barnaby was arrested after failing field sobriety tests and refusing a breath test.

The 38-year-old had his license revoked and was given tickets to appear in Clarence Town Court. His lawyer wasn't immediately available to comment.